Jeff Sessions

Jeff Sessions (2017)

Jefferson Beauregard "Jeff" Sessions III (* 24. December 1946 in Selma , Alabama ) is an American politician of the Republican Party . He was the 84th Secretary of Justice of the United States from February 9, 2017 to November 7, 2018 . From 1997 to 2017, Sessions for the state of Alabama was a member of the United States Senate .

Education, job and personal matters

Jeff Sessions is the son of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions Jr. and Abigail Powe Sessions. He grew up in the Unincorporated Area Hybart , Monroe County , where his father - who served in World War II and was a lifelong Democrat - ran a village shop. Sessions was a scout and rose to Eagle Scout . While at Camden High School , Sessions was a linebacker in American football and was elected president of the senior class. He then studied Sessions at Huntingdon College in Montgomery , where he was involved with the Young Republicans and was elected chairman of the student body. There he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969 . He then attended the University of Alabama School of Law , from which he graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1973 . Sessions then practiced as a lawyer in Russellville and later moved to Mobile . From 1973 to 1986 Sessions served in the United States Army Reserve , which he left with the rank of captain.

Sessions married Mary Blackshear of Gadsden shortly after graduating from college. You have three grown children and live in Mobile, Alabama . He is involved in the Methodist Church .

Judicial career

From 1981 to 1993, Sessions was the United States Attorney for the southern district of Alabama. In 1986, he was denied the appointment of a federal judge at the United States District Court of Alabama after he had been certified in a hearing before the responsible Senate body for earlier racist statements against Douglas Wicks . He used the "N-word" and joked that he always thought the Ku Klux Klan was "okay" "until he found out that its members smoked marijuana". That almost ended his political career.

At that time, Martin Luther King's widow , Coretta Scott King , wrote to Senator Strom Thurmond :

“Anyone who has used the power of his office as United States Attorney to intimidate and chill the free exercise of the ballot by citizens should not be elevated to our courts. Mr. Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters. For this reprehensible conduct, he should not be rewarded with a federal judgeship. "

“Anyone who uses the power of his office as a US attorney to intimidate and deter the free exercise of voting by the citizens may not be raised to a judge with us. Mr. Sessions has used the awesome authority of his office for the shabby purpose of intimidating and frightening older black voters. He must not be rewarded with a federal judge's office for this reprehensible behavior. "

- Coretta Scott King

From January 1995 to January 1997, Sessions served as Attorney General - and thus head of state justice - of Alabama.

Political career

Senator for Alabama

Senator Sessions (2016)

In the Senate election in November 1996. Sessions was first in the United States Senate voted. In the elections in 2002 , 2008 and 2014 he was confirmed by a clear majority, whereby he remained without a competitor in the Republican primary and in the actual election by an opposing candidate of the Democrats in 2014 . After taking office as Minister of Justice on February 9, 2017, Sessions left the Senate.

After resigning as Minister of Justice in November 2018, Confidants Sessions stated that he may be running again for his previous mandate in the 2020 Senate election . This has been held by the Democrat Doug Jones since the by-election in December 2017 . In November 2019, he then announced his candidacy. In the Republican primary of March 3, 2020, he finished second behind former American football coach Tommy Tuberville with 31.6% . This means that Sessions will face a runoff election against Tuberville on March 31, which he lost.

Election campaigners for Donald Trump

In early 2015, Sessions presented a strategy paper on how the Republicans could win the presidential election: The party had to explain to the working class that it was being cheated of its prosperity by immigrants. "Without these voters we cannot win in 2016", "and Republicans cannot win these voters if they are not willing to distance themselves from the large donor caste."

In March 2016, Sessions spoke out in favor of Donald Trump as part of the Republican primaries for the 2016 US presidential election , whose campaign he had previously supported as an advisor and through appearances.

Steve Bannon said in January 2017 that Sessions was "the leader of the populist revolt against the elite".

Attorney General under President Trump

The elected president of Trump suggested sessions on November 18, 2016 as Attorney General of the United States before.

In mid-January 2017, attorneys general from five US states and the capital Washington, DC issued an open letter calling on the US Senate to refuse to approve sessions and thus prevent his appointment. In his past as a politician and attorney general for Alabama, Sessions refused to protect minorities and the weaker. Despite bipartisan recommendations, he prevented the introduction of important judicial reforms. The office of the Attorney General is extremely important and has a great influence. It is crucial that it is clothed by someone who can be relied on. Over 1,400 law professors also criticized the nomination in an open letter.

Nevertheless, Sessions was confirmed by the Senate on February 9, 2017 and has since served as US Attorney General under the Trump presidency .

The relationship between US President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions deteriorated after a few months of the presidency . In July 2017, Trump publicly criticized the fact that Sessions had withdrawn from the Russia investigation (because of 28 CFR 45.2) as biased; Trump said he would not have appointed him as attorney general if Sessions had told him beforehand. Sessions' behavior was "extremely unfair" ("extremely unfair - and that's a mild word"); Before the secret service committee of the Senate he gave "bad answers". Sessions replied on the same day that he wanted to stay in office ("to continue to do so as long as that is appropriate.")

In late July 2017, US Senate Republican members said they would prevent Trump from firing sessions in an attempt to ultimately get rid of Special Counsel Robert Mueller . If so, Senator Lindsey Graham Trump predicted "the beginning of the end of his presidency".

After repeated public calls by Trump, Sessions dismissed FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe in March 2018, despite his bias . Bloomberg reported that in 2017 Mueller, with the support of McCabe, investigated Sessions' possible false statements in his special investigation, but ended the investigation.

After Trump's longtime attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts in a court on August 21, 2018, Trump accused Sessions in an interview of not having control of his ministry. Sessions used Twitter to emphasize the independence of his ministry and for the first time publicly defended himself against Trump's attacks. In early September 2018, Trump criticized the fact that Sessions had allowed preliminary proceedings against two Republican congressmen, Chris Collins and Duncan D. Hunter , before the 2018 elections , because this had negative consequences for the elections. Trump was then criticized, among others, by Republican Senator Ben Sasse , who defended the independence of the judiciary and declared that the United States was “not just any banana republic ”. CNN's legal expert , Jeffrey Toobin , considered this statement by Trump against Sessions to be an obstruction to justice and a possible cause of impeachment.

In Bob Woodward's book Fear: Trump in the White House , published in mid-September 2018, conversations with Trump employees are published, after which Trump sessions were "mentally retarded", a traitor and a "dumb Southerner" ) and is said to have aped Sessions' southern accent, which several people from Trump's environment confirmed, but Trump himself denied via Twitter. Trump is said to have called Sessions idiots in a conversation, whereupon Sessions submitted a resignation to the President, which Trump declined on the advice of employees.

In mid-September 2018, Trump said he had "no attorney general" and did not rule out Sessions' dismissal.

On November 7, 2018, one day after the mid-term election , Sessions announced his immediate resignation from the post of Justice Minister at Trump's request. Donald Trump appointed Matthew G. Whitaker as executive successor.

Russia connection

See also : Special investigation into the 2016 election campaign in the United States , Donald Trump # Allegations of collusion with Russian authorities and Russian interference in the 2016 election campaign in the United States

On March 1, 2017, the Washington Post made public that Sessions had met Russian Ambassador Sergei Kisljak in July and September 2016. Sessions was then a senator and foreign policy advisor to Trump. In January 2017, Sessions before the US Senate declared under oath that he had "had no communication with the Russians". The Justice Department said meetings with ambassadors were part of Sessions' duties as a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee ; other ambassadors were present at the meeting in July, on the sidelines of a conference of the Conservative Heritage Foundation . The meeting in September, a visit by the Russian ambassador to Sessions' office, was made public by the Justice Ministry itself. After House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called for Sessions 'resignation for lying under oath, Trump Sessions expressed "full confidence" on March 2, 2017, saying he had heard of Sessions' meeting with the Russian Ambassador in 2016 did not know anything. In May 2017, it became known that Sessions had also concealed these contacts during its official security clearance in 2016. In early June 2017, Democratic Senators Al Franken and Patrick Leahy - who are members of the Judiciary Committee - asked the FBI to investigate Sessions for perjury . At the same time, it became known that Sessions might have met Kisljak a third time, which he has not yet stated. This third meeting possibly took place on April 26, 2016, when both Sessions and Kisljak were present at a foreign policy speech by Trump in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington , which a spokeswoman for the Justice Department denied.

On June 13, 2017, Sessions testified under oath before the Senate Intelligence Committee . To specific questions he replied about thirty times that he could not remember. He described it as a "horrific and hideous lie" that he might be involved in Russian interference in the election and refused to provide details from talks with President Trump. Sessions replied ambiguously to the dismissal of FBI chief Comey . A few days later, the former US ambassador and later Gazprom lobbyist Richard Burt contradicted Sessions' statement that he did not "believe" that he had met with Russia lobbyists before the 2016 election: both had met twice during this period. Sessions is advised by Washington attorney Charles J. Cooper .

In July 2017, the Washington Post made public that the Russian Ambassador Kisljak had stated in reports tapped by the secret service to the Russian government that he had spoken in two meetings about the American presidential election campaign, which Sessions had always denied.

On November 14, 2017, Sessions testified before the Justice Committee of the US House of Representatives about his role as a foreign policy advisor on Trump's campaign team . In mid-January 2018, special investigator Mueller interviewed him for several hours about ties to Russia.

Political positions

Sessions at a 2016 Donald Trump campaign event

The National Journal described Sessions 2007 as one of the five most conservative US Senators , and the Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2017 as an “arch-conservative hardliner”.

immigration

Sessions stood for a restrictive immigration policy . As a senator, he voted against nearly every draft law to give illegal immigrants US citizenship . In a 2015 article for the Washington Post , he identified legal migration as the main reason for low-income immigration. As attorney general, he was responsible for the controversial policy of separating children from their parents if the parents entered the United States illegally. He said in 2018: "If you don't want to be separated from your children, you shouldn't illegally cross our border with them".

Security policy

Sessions supported the illegal war of aggression on Iraq in 2003. At an event in 2005 he told anti- war opponents: "This group does not represent the American ideals of freedom and its spread worldwide." Sessions was one of three senators who opposed the increase in the health budget for war veterans.

In 2005, Sessions rejected Senator John McCain's bill banning the US military from using torture. The law was passed by 90 votes to 9.

Social policy

Sessions rejects the right to abortion . At a hearing on his nomination for Justice Minister, he said that despite his personal convictions, he would respect the laws that allowed abortion. He has also almost consistently voted against cloning and stem cell research .

For sessions, marijuana is on par with heroin and is allegedly partly responsible for the violence in the country. Therefore, he fights against the legalization of cannabis by individual states.

Environmental policy

Sessions denies the scientific consensus that climate change is man-made: carbon dioxide is “really not a pollutant”, but “plant fertilizer that does no harm except that it could contain temperature increases”. Sessions rejects climate protection measures ; he describes the results of climate research as "deliberate misinformation". He has spoken out in favor of expanding the extraction and consumption of fossil fuels . During his tenure in the Senate, he received approximately $ 400,000 in donations from the oil and gas industry .

Web links

Commons : Jeff Sessions  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Wikiquote: Jeff Sessions  - Quotes

• Jeff Sessions in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Jeff Sessions in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)
• CJ Schexnayder: Jeff Sessions. In: Encyclopedia of Alabama , February 6, 2018 (English)
• Gregory Lewis McNamee: Jeff Sessions. In: Encyclopedia Britannica , August 6, 2015 (English; updated several times)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Gregory Lewis McNamee: Jeff Sessions. In: Encyclopedia Britannica , August 6, 2015; CJ Schexnayder: Jeff Sessions. In: Encyclopedia of Alabama , February 6, 2018.
2. ↑ Jon Swaine, Oliver Laughland: Jeff Sessions accused of retaliation after claims of racism cost him a judgeship. In: The Guardian , November 22, 2016 (English).
3. ↑ ^{a b} Amber Phillips: 10 things to know about Sen. Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general. In: The Washington Post , November 18, 2016.
4. ^ Coretta Scott King's 1986 Statement to the Senate About Jeff Sessions. In: The New York Times , February 8, 2017.
5. ↑ Sen. Jeff Sessions (R). ( Memento of October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) In: CQ's Politics in America 2000 - The 106th Congress. Pp. 5-6 (PDF, approx. 128 KB).
6. ^ Mike Cason: Democrats pick up a handful of candidates; governor only contested statewide race in primary. In: AL.com , February 7, 2014 (English); Tom Barrabi: Jeff Sessions Wins Alabama Senate Race 2014: Republican Re-Elected In Uncontested Race. In: IBTimes.com , November 4, 2014 (English).
7. ↑ Alex Isenstadt: Sessions might run for old Senate seat in Alabama. In: Politico , November 7, 2018.
8. ^ Alan Fram, Kim Chandler: Sessions, an Alabama icon, announces he's running for Senate. In: WSFA 12 News. Gray Televison, Inc., November 7, 2019, accessed March 4, 2020 . 
9. ↑ Rafael Nam: Sessions to face Tuberville in Alabama GOP Senate runoff. In: The Hill. Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., March 3, 2020, accessed March 4, 2020 . 
10. ↑ Clare Foran CNN: Jeff Sessions loses Alabama GOP Senate runoff to Trump-backed Tommy Tuberville. Retrieved July 18, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Sarah Ferris: GOP senator expected to endorse Trump. In: The Hill , February 28, 2016 (English).
12. ↑ Isaac Stanley-Becker: In Trump's GOP, Jeff Sessions goes from fringe to prime time. In: The Washington Post , July 15, 2016.
13. ↑ FAZ.net August 12, 2017 / Andreas Ross: On two different planets
14. ↑ Too racist to be a judge. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , November 18, 2016.
15. ↑ Attorneys General are against Trump's Minister of Justice. In: Die Zeit , January 18, 2017.
16. ↑ Law professors sign letter opposing sessions. In: Yale Daily News , January 17, 2017.
17. ↑ Announcement of the Personalie Sessions . U.S. Senate , February 9, 2017.
18. ↑ Andrew S. Tanenbaum , Christopher Bates: Trump: I Don't Have an Attorney General. In: Electoral Vote , September 20, 2018. See 28 CFR 45.2 - Disqualification arising from personal or political relationship. In: Cornell.edu.
19. ↑ Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt, Maggie Haberman: Citing Recusal, Trump Says He Wouldn't Have Hired Sessions. In: The New York Times , July 19, 2017 (English); Trump: Sessions' behavior is "extremely unfair". In: FAZ.net , July 20, 2017; Jana Anzlinger: Trump and Sessions - the end of a friendship. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , July 20, 2017.
20. ^ Robert Costa, Sari Horwitz, Matt Zapotosky: Jeff Sessions says he plans to stay in role, despite Trump's comments about him. In: The Washington Post , July 20, 2017 (English).
21. ↑ FAZ.net July 28, 2017: The beginning of the end of the presidency?
22. ↑ Chris Strohm: Mueller Investigated Sessions for Perjury on Russia Statements. In: Bloomberg.com , March 22, 2018.
23. ↑ Trump: Markets would collapse if impeached . FAZ , August 23, 2018, accessed on July 18, 2020 . 
24. ↑ Thorsten Denkler: Sessions breaks with Trump. In: Sueddeutsche.de , August 24, 2018.
25. ↑ Catherine Lucey: Trump attacks Sessions, suggests DOJ hurt GOP in midterms. In: ABC News , September 3, 2018.
26. ↑ Michael Burke: Republican senator slams Trump's DOJ attack: US 'not some banana republic'. In: The Hill , September 3, 2018.
27. ↑ Justin Wise: Toobin: Trump tweet attacking sessions over indictments 'may be an impeachable offense'. In: The Hill , September 4, 2018.
28. ^ Marshall Cohen: Bob Woodward book: Trump called Sessions 'mentally retarded'. In: CNN.com , September 5, 2018; Asawin Suebsaeng: Trump's Attack on Woodward's Book Hits a Bump: He Actually Did Call Jeff Sessions a 'Retard'. In: The Daily Beast , September 5, 2018.
29. ↑ Andrew S. Tanenbaum , Christopher Bates: Trump: I Don't Have an Attorney General. In: Electoral Vote , September 20, 2018.
30. ↑ Laura Jarrett: Jeff Sessions out as attorney general. In: CNN.com , November 7, 2018.
31. ↑ Konstanze Walther: The secret path to the Minister of Justice. In: wienerzeitung.at. November 9, 2018, accessed November 10, 2018 . 
32. ↑ Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not disclose. In: The Washington Post , March 1, 2017.
33. ↑ Pierre Thomas, Adam Kelsey: Sessions twice met with Russian ambassador in 2016 despite denial. In: ABC News , March 2, 2017 (English).
34. ↑ Trump expresses his "complete confidence" in Sessions. In: FAZ.net , March 3, 2017.
35. ↑ Manu Raju, Evan Perez: AG Sessions did not disclose Russia meetings in security clearance form, DOJ says. In: CNN.com , May 25, 2017 (English).
36. ↑ Ted Barrett, Tom LoBianco: Senators asked Comey to investigate AG Jeff Sessions for possible perjury. In: CNN.com , June 2, 2017 (English).
37. ↑ Sessions is said to have met three times with the Russian ambassador. In: FAZ.net , June 9, 2017.
38. ↑ Veit Medick : Everything gap. In: Spiegel Online , June 14, 2017.
39. ^ Jeff Sessions Denies Collusion, Deploring 'Detestable Lie' in Senate Testimony. In: The New York Times , June 13, 2017 (English).
40. ↑ Jeff Sessions finds a shield in executive privilege - but it might not be a strong one. In: The Washington Post , June 13, 2017.
41. ↑ Thorsten Denkler: The gaps in memory of Trump's Minister of Justice. In: Sueddeutsche.de , June 14, 2017.
42. ↑ Stephanie Kirchgaessner: Lobbyist for Russian interests says he attended dinners hosted by Sessions. In: The Guardian , June 15, 2017 (English).
43. ↑ Taegan Goddard: Sessions Has Lawyered Up Too. In: Political Wire , June 20, 2017 (English).
44. ↑ Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller: Sessions Discussed Trump campaign-related matters with Russian ambassador, US intelligence Intercepts show. In: The Washington Post , July 21, 2017.
45. ↑ Trump's Justice Minister remembers the conversation about a trip to Russia. In: Spiegel Online , November 14, 2017.
46. ↑ Michael S. Schmidt: Comey and Sessions Are Questioned for Hours in Russia Inquiry. In: The New York Times , January 23, 2018.
47. ↑ Sacha Batthyany : Donald Trump's Whisperer. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , March 9, 2016.
48. ↑ ^{a b} Controversial Senator Jeff Sessions is set to become US attorney general . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , November 18, 2016.
49. ^ Jeff Sessions: America needs to curb immigration flows. In: The Washington Post , April 9, 2015.
50. ↑ Dorothea Hahn: Authorities separate parents from children. In: Die Tageszeitung , May 30, 2018.
51. ^ Brian J. Foley: I Gave My Copy of the Constitution to a Pro-War Veteran. In: Antiwar.com , October 1, 2005.
52. ↑ Josh Hicks Work: VFW attacks the three Republicans who voted against the Senate bill VA. In: The Washington Post , June 13, 2014.
53. ↑ David Smith, Spencer Ackerman, Jessica Glenza: Trump cabinet appointments will 'undo decades of progress', rights activists say. In: The Guardian , November 18, 2016 (English).
54. ↑ Dan Merica: Sessions pledges to respect Roe v. Wade decision despite personal beliefs. In: CNN.com , February 8, 2017.
55. ↑ Bill Kte'pi: Alabama. In: Clive N. Svendsen, Allison D. Ebert (Eds.): Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research. Volume 2. Sage, Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore 2008, pp. 4–6, here p. 4 f.
56. ↑ US government restricts marijuana legalization. In: Zeit Online , January 4, 2018.
57. ^ Camille von Kaenel: Trump Picks a Climate Skeptic to Enforce Environmental Laws. In: Scientific American , November 21, 2016.